Cross-pollination

When Camelia Frieberg bought a 250-acre farm in Baker’s Settlement on Nova Scotia’s South Shore a decade ago, she ended up planting a lot more than just family roots. “I’d been carrying around a seed of an idea for over 30 years,” says Frieberg, a world-renowned film producer. “I wanted to create a space where people could come together in conversation with the aim of creating a better world.” That seed sprang to life when Frieberg teamed with partner Peter Biro in 2008.Together they’ve created the Pollination Project (www.pollinationproject.ca), a social enterprise designed to help others incorporate more sustainable business practices. Through workshops offered on a variety of topics centred around sustainability, the Pollination Project is showing how a triple bottom line should be part of the business equation. “People, planet, and profit are essential to any business,” says Frieberg. “All the events we offer are linked by the exploration of the connections between healthy food, artistic expression, mindful practices, and social justice.” That message is catching on. As it enters its second year, the Pollination Project is gaining a reputation as a sustainability epicentre. Each year it hosts 24 workshops and events, and it has already welcomed more than 350 visitors. Its timing couldn’t have been better; with oil prices set to skyrocket this year, the movement to “go local” is picking up steam. “The rise of the regional economy is quickly becoming a reality,” says Peter Biro, a Bay Street lawyer who divides his time between Toronto and Nova Scotia. “To meet those growing needs, the Pollination Project is developing a business incubator for these kinds of cottage industries in the area.” The eco-endeavour has already attracted the attention of big-name supporters both nationally and internationally, including British naturalist Jane Goodall and award-winning Toronto filmmaker Atom Egoyan, who recently both signed on as honourary members of the Project. “It’s exciting to see more people connecting the dots between the arts, the economy, and the environment,” says Biro. “Suddenly the idea of sustainability has become sexy to both politicians and business leaders.” Although their push for people to “get back to the farm” might find its grassroots in the idealism of the 1960s, the attorney is quick to note that the comparison ends there. “Make no mistake about it—we are a corporate entity,” he says, smiling. “There’s no ignoring the market society in which we live.” To that end, Frieberg and Biro hope to bring their product to global markets through downloadable workshops, publications, webinars, and other media platforms. “Franchising might be too strong a word,” says Frieberg. “I like the idea of crosspollination so that, like in the natural world, our brand of core values will organically find its way to other parts of the planet.”
— Stephen Patrick Clare